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I forgot to turn off my car lights on last night...and left them on overnight. Fortunately I was still be able to drive my car and evrything was fine.Is it going to catch up with ? The reason why I asked is because I had inicident when my tail lights wouldnt turn off and I accidently left them on for few hours.My car I was able to drive my car that same night.Then the next day my battery was drained.
Speaking as a mechanic (for motorcycles no less), the charging system on a car isn't Designed to charge a battery from flat. It's designed to replace the charge used to start the vehicle. Some have MAJOR issues (as in, failures caused by) when trying to charge a nearly flat battery. As it is, it takes 15~20 minutes of engine running to replace the charge used by starting, so if your drive is less than that, you're draining the battery slowly... this is the smallest of bad things that happen with lots of frequent short trips, but it'll leave you stranded.
It's always better to use a battery charger to restore the charge when you've drained it deeply. Either that or have a "heavy duty" charging system installed (most RV's have this, trucks all have the option and it's occasionally included in a tow package, or some other dealer package).
It's cheap and works great, probably the single best charger I've used. That's half of what I paid about 6 years ago.... CTEK is the other top-shelf brand, though they tend to run a bit more expensive.
In any case, that's how I'd "fix" the issue. I hit my vehicles with it once or twice a year just for maintenance... always at the start of fall, right now, and sometimes when things seem to be sluggish with starting.
do you know a friend or have neighbour with a trickle charger/battery tender they can let you use/borrow to recharge your dead/flat battery for the day or overnight OP?
i agree with putting the battery on a charger for a number of hours before using it again in the car. as for being able to drive the car, right now it is probably fine, but some life has been taken out of the battery and the alternator. how much depends on how good these components were to begin with.
best to not let it happen again though, as the damage is cumulative.
You're alright if it started. I'd have driven it a while for some extra charging.
But good grief, what kind of a car is it that will let you leave the lights on? Even my old '98 Toyota Corolla beater, if you turn the ignition off and pull the key out with the lights on, an obnoxiously loud alarm sounds until you cut the lights off....
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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How old is it? Modern cars have battery-minder electronics, if the lights or anything else is left on it will detect that and shut them down to prevent a dead battery. Even my 2007 has that.
....an obnoxiously loud alarm sounds until you cut the lights off....
The one Buick I had was funny, it would have gentle ding to let you know the lights were on. It would go ballistic if you opened the door and they were still on.
If oyu got the car started, you are fine. Driving it around a bit should charge the battery up to full charge. That's a good battery that allowed you to leave the headlights on all night and still start right up.
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